Richard Nixon
January 9, 1913- April 22, 1994
Terms in Office: 1 full and 1 small one: January 20, 1969 – August 9, 1974
Vice Presidents: Spiro Agnew(1969-1973), Gerald Ford(1973-1974)
Republican
Richard Nixon is undoubtedly one of the most controversial presidents in US History. He served both as Vice-President and President for 2 terms each. Nixon helped lead the nation out of the Vietnam war, utilized economic policies to help restore the slumping Vietnam Economy, supported various Civil Rights reforms, most notably the effective utilization of integration, and also greatly improved relations with both China and the Soviet Union, and though he probably was involved in the Watergate Scandal, was an excellent US president, and deserves an A for his presidency.
Goals:
Nixon had a lot of things to accomplish during his presidency. First, he wanted to create a better relationship with China, and he was very successful in this goal. He traveled to China in 1972 and met with Chairman Mao. The two discussed various things, and their meeting ushered in a new era of goodwill between the US and China. Nixon also wanted to improve relations with the Soviets, and he also traveled to Moscow in 1972. After intense discussions with Leonid Brezhnev, the two signed SALT 1 and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which limited nuclear weapons and banned systems to intercept incoming missiles. They also agreed to begin cooperating under the concept of Détente, which created a new era of increased cooperation and goodwill between the two rival nations.
Nixon also wanted to stimulate the sloping wartime economy. The Economic Stabilization Act of 1970 allowed Nixon to put caps on wage increases and prices. He worked diligently to defeat inflation, most notably by completely abolishing the gold standard, since other nations were using their own monetary systems to starve our gold reserves. He utilized the concept of Keynesianism to help prevent unemployment. His economic policies were extremely effective, even the rival democrats were impressed with how well his economic program worked.
Nixon took a moderate stance on integration, somewhere between liberals who wanted to completely bus blacks and whites to various schools and conservatives who were flat out anti-integration. He made integration easier by having his cabinet committee of education set up local biracial committees to prevent violence and easy the transition. He managed to make integration run as smoothly as possible, and by 1970 82% of black students had been successfully integrated, a huge jump from the small 30% of 1968.
Nixon also wanted to support affirmative action with his Philadelphia Plan. He also fully supported the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment which was passed in both Houses in 1972, and gave women a stronger stance in society. He also appointed more women to administration positions.
Nixon’s most important goal coming into the presidency was to effectively manage and end the Vietnam War. He initially tried to defeat the North Vietnamese by bombing enemy positions in Cambodia. This was very controversial since we weren’t at war with Cambodia, even if they were sheltering the Viet Cong. He began to lower troop counts in Vietnam, first removing some 25,000 in 1969. His Nixon Doctrine said that the US troops would slowly be removed and be replaced by Vietnamese ones, aka “Vietnamization”. He did approve attacks on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, even in the parts which went through Laos. This may seem like bad judgment since it could cause conflict with Laos, but the fact is that they could sneak right through there and we needed to step up and stop them there. For this, Nixon’s judgment was wise, we may be pulling out of this war, but while we’re still fighting we might as well fight effectively. His creation of the Gates Commission helped end the hated draft. He eventually succeeded at getting the US out of the sinkhole of Vietnam in the Paris Peace Accords of 1973.
Relationship with Congress:
Nixon did not enjoy a great relationship with Congress. He criticized congress for not going along with his Southern appointees to Supreme Court. During his elections he was extremely harsh against many of the Democrat nominees. He was very harsh on many members of Congress, even fellow republicans who he deemed as “too liberal”. However, the two did get along in other ways. They did agree on the Equal Rights Administration, and their cooperation in improving the economy was very successful. Despite these victories, the two had an unfriendly relationship.
Most Positive Outcome:
Nixon’s most positive move was his restoration of the American economy. One could argue that pulling us out of Vietnam was better, however, it took him 4 years to pull us out of Vietnam, and the War was already very unpopular when he entered office in 1969. Nixon fought the inflation that Johnson had left over and fought it by setting a limit of 2.5% increase on products price per year, but put a 5.5% limit on wage increases. This way, the inflation would stop and people could afford products. He further fought inflation by completely abolishing the gold standard. Other nations who were not on the gold standard would use their money to suck the gold out of the US reserves, and the reserves dwindled from $25 billion to $10.5 billion. Nixon ended foreigners from screwing our economy over in his much needed eradication of the Gold Standard. Nixon also created a 10% investment tax credit, removed excise taxes from the auto industry, which directly benefited the consumer, ended fixed exchange rates, and places a 10% tax on all imports to the country, all of which directly benefited Americans. The economy really evolved thanks to Nixon and his economic leadership could be compared to the “New Deal of the 1970s”.
Most Negative Outcome:
This one is a no brainier, obviously the Watergate Scandal was his greatest flaw. He most defiantly had a part in the Watergate Scandal even though he never did admit it. Nixon tried to cover the whole thing up but when the government made him give up the tapes he had no choice but to resign as president or face near certain impeachment. His resignation clearly proves that he was involved, and Gerald Ford was a good ally in pardoning him of everything. Nixon stupidly ruined what was an otherwise very successful presidency. He went against the Constitution in wire tapping the Democrats and embarrassed the nation in front of the entire world. However, the scandal didn’t really hurt the USA significantly, it didn’t destroy our economy or put us in an impossible war, and the good that Nixon did during his presidency is extremely underrated. I believe that what he did in office is truly more significant(Although much less famous) than the Watergate Scandal.
Future Influence:
Nixon will always be remembered for the Watergate Scandal and looked down upon because of what he did, but he was an effective president. He managed to end the Vietnam War and his economic reforms were groundbreaking. He successfully implemented integration into US society and helped women finally gain true equal rights. He began an era of Détente between the US and the USSR and also opened diplomatic ties with the Chinese. He even lowered the speed limit to 55 mph. Therefore, Nixon was an influential president and his leadership was successful in a time of such change as the early 70s.
In conclusion, Nixon did a good job throughout his presidency. He bolstered the economy and got us out of the dreaded Vietnam war. He was successful with integration and gave women equal rights. He also helped thaw the Cold War. Nixon’s Watergate Scandal was the only bad 1% of an otherwise very good presidency, and therefore he fully deserves an A for leading the nation effectively leading the nation throughout his presidency.
Richard Nixon
January 9, 1913- April 22, 1994
Terms in Office: 1 full and 1 small one: January 20, 1969 – August 9, 1974
Vice Presidents: Spiro Agnew(1969-1973), Gerald Ford(1973-1974)
Republican
Richard Nixon is undoubtedly one of the most controversial presidents in US History. He served both as Vice-President and President for 2 terms each. Nixon helped lead the nation out of the Vietnam war, utilized economic policies to help restore the slumping Vietnam Economy, supported various Civil Rights reforms, most notably the effective utilization of integration, and also greatly improved relations with both China and the Soviet Union, and though he probably was involved in the Watergate Scandal, was an excellent US president, and deserves an A for his presidency.
Goals:
Nixon had a lot of things to accomplish during his presidency. First, he wanted to create a better relationship with China, and he was very successful in this goal. He traveled to China in 1972 and met with Chairman Mao. The two discussed various things, and their meeting ushered in a new era of goodwill between the US and China. Nixon also wanted to improve relations with the Soviets, and he also traveled to Moscow in 1972. After intense discussions with Leonid Brezhnev, the two signed SALT 1 and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which limited nuclear weapons and banned systems to intercept incoming missiles. They also agreed to begin cooperating under the concept of Détente, which created a new era of increased cooperation and goodwill between the two rival nations.
Nixon also wanted to stimulate the sloping wartime economy. The Economic Stabilization Act of 1970 allowed Nixon to put caps on wage increases and prices. He worked diligently to defeat inflation, most notably by completely abolishing the gold standard, since other nations were using their own monetary systems to starve our gold reserves. He utilized the concept of Keynesianism to help prevent unemployment. His economic policies were extremely effective, even the rival democrats were impressed with how well his economic program worked.
Nixon took a moderate stance on integration, somewhere between liberals who wanted to completely bus blacks and whites to various schools and conservatives who were flat out anti-integration. He made integration easier by having his cabinet committee of education set up local biracial committees to prevent violence and easy the transition. He managed to make integration run as smoothly as possible, and by 1970 82% of black students had been successfully integrated, a huge jump from the small 30% of 1968.
Nixon also wanted to support affirmative action with his Philadelphia Plan. He also fully supported the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment which was passed in both Houses in 1972, and gave women a stronger stance in society. He also appointed more women to administration positions.
Nixon’s most important goal coming into the presidency was to effectively manage and end the Vietnam War. He initially tried to defeat the North Vietnamese by bombing enemy positions in Cambodia. This was very controversial since we weren’t at war with Cambodia, even if they were sheltering the Viet Cong. He began to lower troop counts in Vietnam, first removing some 25,000 in 1969. His Nixon Doctrine said that the US troops would slowly be removed and be replaced by Vietnamese ones, aka “Vietnamization”. He did approve attacks on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, even in the parts which went through Laos. This may seem like bad judgment since it could cause conflict with Laos, but the fact is that they could sneak right through there and we needed to step up and stop them there. For this, Nixon’s judgment was wise, we may be pulling out of this war, but while we’re still fighting we might as well fight effectively. His creation of the Gates Commission helped end the hated draft. He eventually succeeded at getting the US out of the sinkhole of Vietnam in the Paris Peace Accords of 1973.
Relationship with Congress:
Nixon did not enjoy a great relationship with Congress. He criticized congress for not going along with his Southern appointees to Supreme Court. During his elections he was extremely harsh against many of the Democrat nominees. He was very harsh on many members of Congress, even fellow republicans who he deemed as “too liberal”. However, the two did get along in other ways. They did agree on the Equal Rights Administration, and their cooperation in improving the economy was very successful. Despite these victories, the two had an unfriendly relationship.
Most Positive Outcome:
Nixon’s most positive move was his restoration of the American economy. One could argue that pulling us out of Vietnam was better, however, it took him 4 years to pull us out of Vietnam, and the War was already very unpopular when he entered office in 1969. Nixon fought the inflation that Johnson had left over and fought it by setting a limit of 2.5% increase on products price per year, but put a 5.5% limit on wage increases. This way, the inflation would stop and people could afford products. He further fought inflation by completely abolishing the gold standard. Other nations who were not on the gold standard would use their money to suck the gold out of the US reserves, and the reserves dwindled from $25 billion to $10.5 billion. Nixon ended foreigners from screwing our economy over in his much needed eradication of the Gold Standard. Nixon also created a 10% investment tax credit, removed excise taxes from the auto industry, which directly benefited the consumer, ended fixed exchange rates, and places a 10% tax on all imports to the country, all of which directly benefited Americans. The economy really evolved thanks to Nixon and his economic leadership could be compared to the “New Deal of the 1970s”.
Most Negative Outcome:
This one is a no brainier, obviously the Watergate Scandal was his greatest flaw. He most defiantly had a part in the Watergate Scandal even though he never did admit it. Nixon tried to cover the whole thing up but when the government made him give up the tapes he had no choice but to resign as president or face near certain impeachment. His resignation clearly proves that he was involved, and Gerald Ford was a good ally in pardoning him of everything. Nixon stupidly ruined what was an otherwise very successful presidency. He went against the Constitution in wire tapping the Democrats and embarrassed the nation in front of the entire world. However, the scandal didn’t really hurt the USA significantly, it didn’t destroy our economy or put us in an impossible war, and the good that Nixon did during his presidency is extremely underrated. I believe that what he did in office is truly more significant(Although much less famous) than the Watergate Scandal.
Future Influence:
Nixon will always be remembered for the Watergate Scandal and looked down upon because of what he did, but he was an effective president. He managed to end the Vietnam War and his economic reforms were groundbreaking. He successfully implemented integration into US society and helped women finally gain true equal rights. He began an era of Détente between the US and the USSR and also opened diplomatic ties with the Chinese. He even lowered the speed limit to 55 mph. Therefore, Nixon was an influential president and his leadership was successful in a time of such change as the early 70s.
In conclusion, Nixon did a good job throughout his presidency. He bolstered the economy and got us out of the dreaded Vietnam war. He was successful with integration and gave women equal rights. He also helped thaw the Cold War. Nixon’s Watergate Scandal was the only bad 1% of an otherwise very good presidency, and therefore he fully deserves an A for leading the nation effectively leading the nation throughout his presidency.
Works Cited
Degregorio, William A. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2005. Print.
"The Nation: The Coming Battle Between President and Congress - TIME." Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com. Web. 24 Dec. 2009. <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,909738-6,00.html>.
"Richard M. Nixon |." The White House. Web. 23 Dec. 2009. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/richardnixon>.
"Richard Nixon - encyclopedia article - Citizendium." Welcome to Citizendium - Citizendium. Web. 24 Dec. 2009. <http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon>.
"Richard Nixon -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 24 Dec. 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon>.
"USA-Presidents.Info - Richard Nixon." USA-Presidents.Info - Biographies and information on every American president. Web. 23 Dec. 2009. <http://www.usa-presidents.info/nixon.htm>.